Japan has confirmed the nation's first case of a new gene in bacteria that allows the microorganisms to become drug-resistant superbugs, detected in a man who had medical treatment in India, a health ministry official said Tuesday, AP reported The gene, known as NDM-1, was found in a Japanese man in his 50s, health ministry official Kensuke Nakajima said. Researchers say the gene _ which appears to be circulating widely in India _ alters bacteria, making them resistant to nearly all known antibiotics. The man was hospitalized in April 2009 after returning from India where he had medical treatment. Nakajima declined to say what kind of treatment the man had received in India, citing the man's privacy. The man had a high fever while stayialia, Canada, the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden and the U.K. Researchers say since many Americans and Europeans travel to India, the superbug gene would spread worldwide.
